With reference to the prior art, there are today commercially available small-sized robots, which generally present the configuration of an articulated arm, which are designed for applications regarding activities of research or else for use in the didactic and educational field, or also for hobby purposes.
The above robots are characterized, not only by being small-sized, but also by having a structure made up of modules that can be combined together, precisely with a view to enabling even unskilled operators to configure and install these robots by themselves.
In the generic field of robotics, modular structures for robots have in any case already been widely known for some time, as emerges from the documents of the prior art U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,428,713; 5,293,107.
The document No. U.S. Pat. No. 5,293,107 regards a robot arm comprising a series of structural elements that are connected together in an articulated way through motorized joints. These joints constitute independent modules that integrate within them a rotary electro-mechanical actuator and a unit for power supply and control of the actuator. In particular, each joint comprises a stator body equipped with a series of windings and a rotor body that has a corresponding series of magnets. Furthermore, the bodies carry on them respective gears designed to constitute a planetary-gear reducer assembly. The rotor and stator bodies of this joint are fixed to the other structural elements of the robot with bolts.
Also the document No. U.S. Pat. No. 5,428,713 regards a modular robot arm, which, however, is made up of a series of modules that are all the same. In this case, each module comprises a motor equipped with a gear reducer, a control unit, which is coaxial and directly connected to the motor, a fixed shaft, which extends from the control unit outwards so as to share the axis of rotation of the motor, a rotary shaft, which extends from the motor outwards so as to share the axis of rotation of the motor, an L-shaped bracket having a first end connected to the fixed shaft and the other end that extends parallel to the axis of rotation of the motor towards the mobile shaft, and a further L-shaped bracket having one end connected to the mobile shaft and the other end that extends parallel to the axis of rotation of the motor towards the fixed shaft.
Modular robot configurations that are available today have, however, proven far from satisfactory as regards use for educational purposes.